Hump Day

Above is a picture of my lunch of choice these days. Unfortunately the Park Ridge Dairy Queen is seasonal and closes this weekend. I figure a blizzard is not the best lunch choice, but at least I am not eating it WITH a lunch!:)

My funk seems to be continuing this week. I am sleeping well but wake up out of sorts. I can usually get it together for the morning and early afternoon but then start dragging by the afternoon and am done for by evening.

Last night, I was supposed to meet with Uli but was NOT feeling well at work. Thankfully she was also available on Friday so I can meet up with her then. Even better, she is out of school by 4:00 so we can meet earlier (which is better). I spent the evening on the couch watching the Biggest Loser - which I think may have jumped the shark. Is it just me?

Plans tonight to meet friends at OTS and watch the Hawks game, plans tomorrow to meet a friend and go to the Time Out shopping thing. I hope I make it....

35 Weeks (and Counting)

I finally got my camera, charged battery, and myself all in the same room for some belly pictures. I've been feeling pretty emotional today and am not sure what is going on. For me, this pregnancy has been all about the physical symptoms, not the emotional ones so I was NOT happy with being teary and stressed.



Here goes writing to get it out so I can move on:

First: I was trying hard to "get stuff done" this morning. Laundry, loading the dishwasher, putting stuff away, moving stuff around, etc. The reality is that we don't have a big place and I just keep bringing more stuff in, which stresses me out.

Second: I was dogstalked this morning. River was so underfoot that I kicked him several times. While he usually follows me around, this level is ridiculous. I then started freaking out that he knew something I did not know and that I was about to go into labor. I wondered if Allan forgot to feed him. Now that we are at work, he is fine. Maybe he just wanted to go to work or get out of the house?

Third: I then started thinking about all the ways Allan and I are not ready for the baby, what is going to happen when the baby comes, what is going to happen after the baby comes.

Fourth: thank you notes....they keep piling up. It is so wonderful to have such generous people in my life, but I am stressed about thank you notes.

Fifth: It hit 1:00 and I realized I had to eat, but I already had heartburn and was nauseous. I was gagging while talking on the phone with a friend, nice. I did force myself to eat something, but only under duress.

Sixth: emails from my Mom. Need I say more.

Ugh - the good news is that I feel better, the baby is moving, and I have no BH (nor have I for a few days). I keep telling myself that the baby needs to keep growing and everything will work out......right?

Weekend Wrap-Up!

Ugh - I swear I am going to post more of what is going on during the week and then it never seems to happen! Also, even though I charged my camera battery, I have no pictures to post. Maybe I will be able to cut and paste some off Facebook....

Friday - I don't know where the day went. I had a kid in the morning, met Amy for pedicures at 11;15, took a nap, met Allan downtown for an OB appointment at 3:00 (all clear), walked through Nordies (still not interested in shopping), and met friends at Mercadito for dinner at 5:00. I've eaten there before but did not remember it being sooo good. My favorites included the chicken tacos, mexican street corn, and plantains. For dessert the five of us split a flan type dessert and chocolate/habanero cake. Yum, yum, yum. I only wish I could have had more than a sip of margarita! soon.


We all then walked over to the Oriental Theater for Rock of Ages. It was amusing and fun. The rest of the girls went out after the show for an 11/11/11 drink, but I drove Laurel home since I had to be up at 5:00am to drive Allan to the airport.

Saturday: 5:00 a wakeup call was brutal, but necessary to get Allan to the airport for a 7:00 am flight to San Francisco where he was meeting up with Ninna to drive up to Giny's wedding. I am glad he went but have missed him this weekend! Saturday was busy with yard work, a nap, a dog walk, and my "Midwest Baby Shower". Tammy was generous enough to host and I was showered with love and gifts. I loved the "high tea" theme and think/hope everyone had a great time. I made it home by 7:00pm and crashed HARD.

Sunday: yet another busy day today! I have been unloading the car, doing laundry, went to a play with Laura at Timeline, wrote 10 thank you notes, and ordered curtains for the baby's room. Now we just need to have them arrive and get Allan to hang them before the baby makes his appeareance.:)

Stand Up, Sit Down....

Whelp - I officially did to much yesterday and my body fought back.

Friday I drove to New Buffalo to meet up with Allan who was there for the day on a "math retreat". (yes, these are things I just don't really ask about). I left early with plans to hit the outlet mall on the way, traffic had other plans. As it was, I arrived at the Red Arrow Roadhouse in Union Pier, Michigan somewhat late and sat down to a new fun game. The people at the table each say the name of a move in in turn that everyone else has seen. The goal is to get to ten movies that everyone has seen. epic fail, I think the highest we made it was to three movies. It was fun though and something to keep in mind for future events with strangers at a table (well, I was a stranger, everyone else knew each other). Thankfully, traffic was fine on the way home and it took literally 1/2 the time for the return trip. We hit the sack.

Saturday we were up early and el'd it downtown for Allan to run the Hot Chocolate 5k. We hoofed it from the el, I then walked with a friend to get coffee who was running the 15k (which started 30 minutes later), walked back to the finish line (not the start), then walked to Buckingham Fountain to meet Allan, walked back to the el, had brunch at Glenn's Diner (yum, totally worth the hype) and went home. By the time we got to the front door, I was a mess. My stomach felt hard and tight and my pelvis hurt (I don't know how else to describe it).

My downfall was that it was a beautiful day. In Chicago ,when we get these days in November in Chicago there is this sense that you CAN"T waste them. So after a nap, Allan and I walked (slowly) into Lincoln Square to try to buy a book for Uncle Kent (they did not have it at the Book Cellar) and try on Vibram's at Fleet Feet (neither of us were sold). We stopped for a gelato at Pachiugo and sat on a bench in the sun eating (coconut for me, banana for Allan, vanilla for both of us).

Unfortunately, this was just to much exercise and put me over the edge. I walked VERY slowly home and needed to stop every few minutes to take a few breaths. It felt like my stomach was getting tight and squeezing While it did not hurt, it was not comfortable. When we got home, I immediatley lay down with some water and "encouraged" Allan (aka Mr. Energizer Bunny) to go get a haircut and see the Red Bull Snowmobile thing at Wrigley that we had printed out tickets for. I started writing down the times that my stomach was getting tight and hard - pretty consistently 4-5 minutes apart.

After two hours (and a period when I thought things were slowing down), I called the Dr. The fact of the matter is, it is to early for this baby to come out and while I did not want to go down to the hospital, I am willing to do what it takes for a happy, healthy baby. The Dr. on call was great. She said it was fine for me to hang out at home as long as things did not get worse and told me I had done the right thing in calling her and letting her know what was going on. We agreed on a plan of action and when I should call back/go to the hospital. Luckily, things did not progress and I am supposed to call early tomorrow morning to go see the Dr before my Friday afternoon appointment.

Today we headed up to Lake Forest for the day to meet up with N&B who were in town for the weekend. They were staying in the "tennis house" of this AMAZING estate off Lake Road. This place was crazy beautiful and huge with an indoor tennis court, guest houses, old overgrown outdoor grass court, gardens, and a main house across Lake St (on the lake side). Must be nice, I am glad I get to visit!

We picked up Aunt JT and headed to Onwentsia Club for a really lovely lunch. Aunt JT was good friend of Allan's mom and a charming lunch companion. I told Allan that I want to get to know his Lake Forest relatives better so I can take the baby up without him in the spring and build some connections. This is really the first baby of a new generation and people are thrilled. I am thrilled to have family close and we already have invitations to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since I won't be with my family, I am happy to be with new family!

After lunch we tried again to get a book for Uncle Kent (the bookstore was closed) and then dropped in for a quick visit. He looked good and it was a nice visit. He was thrilled to hear that Allan had been to Game 6 of the world series and wanted to talk about playing golf next summer. We drove back into the city (Allan drove, I napped) and I crawled into bed. Trying to keep the baby happy and don't want a repeat of yesterday! Must.keep.baby.healthy My lesson for the weekend is that I really have to take it easy. I know this, putting it into practice is not as easy for me. 34 weeks tomorrow - 2 more weeks till I am "full term".

AND...I MUST take some belly pictures this week....it is huge!

My Funny Husband

Who is usually funny only when he is not trying to be funny (and not when he is). Was making me laugh hysterically last night (Wed). The first awesoeme thing that he did was bring home pringles - which I ate and was then not hungry for dinner. No wonder my fingers are puffy today!

We are later sitting on the couch watching Modern Family and I am feeling the baby jump fairly rhythmically.
Susan: I think he has hiccups.
Allan: Who? River? (the dog)
susan: No you idiot, the baby! hmmmm this is facebook worthy.
Allan: You know, many of my friends on facebook don't know...
Susan: What? That you are an idiot? They are your friends, how could they not know?
Allan: *responds with finger gesture* laughing

I was in a good mood last night, have been in a pretty good mood this week.

You Know You are Pregnant When....

I bought a new waterproof matress pad becuse I have a tempurpedic mattress and am terrified my water is going to break in bed and ruin it (costing me millions). It took me no less than 15 minutes to change out the mattress pad and change the sheets this morning. I was so exhausted afterwards I had to lie down for another 15 minutes to recover.

epic fail

Cool and rainy here today. I am off to do some errands (office max, petco, ulta) before seeing some kids this afternoon.

Decaf coffee from Starbucks on the Clover machine is rocking my world today.....

Mama Said There'd be Days Like This...

Well, my Mom would be much more likely to say something like "buck up and stop whining". After playing phone tag with my OB, it turns out that I have a bladder infection (and have since last Wed). I guess the good news for this is that there is a REASON I have been feeling pretty off all week and that there is modern medicine to help me recover quickly:)

It is a grey and gloomy day here in Chicago so I plan on diving in to Starbucks on the way to my first kid. Still contemplating if I am going to get a shower in today..... I did not sleep well last night (yeah heartburn!) and Allan is gone till Friday night at a conference in St Louis. I hope he gets to see Game 7 and a hometown win! On other happy news, River is still "recovering" from boy's weekend with Allan and is flatulant with gastric distress - to put it mildly. I guess it is time to get both of our systems back on track for the weekend!

East Coast Baby Shower/32 weeks

I was in NOVA (Northern Virginia) this past weekend for my "East Coast Baby Shower" which was hosted by my Aunt Edith and cousins Elizabeth and Sarah. My Aunt Edith lives in a beautiful house on the Chesapeake Bay. I loved everything from the invitations (shaped like baby bibs) to the food to the company. There were no games (thank goodness) but an activity where people wrote messages on diapers for Allan and I to read while changing the baby at 2:00am. I am sure the diapers and messages will come in handy in the near future!

It was fun to see family and friends that I don't see as often since I live in the midwest. I am constantly amazed by the generosity of my family and friends. It is overwhelming to me at times how much I have received in the past year. I have always tried to be honestly generous with my time and money, this year, I feel that generosity has come back to me tenfold. Feeling truly blessed may be the biggest gift of all. My only real regret is that I did not get a picture of myself with my hostesses. Instead I am going to post one of me and my desserts!:)

The other major highlight of the weekend was seeing my sister's new house in Arlington. To say that I have house envy is an understatement, but I am going to work to be happy with what I have (which is A LOT).

My parents left for two weeks in Paris the night of my shower and I am thrilled that they are spending time in such a fabulous city. If I could have a second home anywhere in the world, it would be in Paris. Love, love, love.

In other pregnancy news, I gained a pound this week (as of 10/25) and am up to 14lbs gained for the pregnancy. I changed OB's and feel really comfortable with my new choice. After seeing my medical records from my previous OB, I am considering my options. At best, there was some negligence involved and I need to do some research on where to direct a letter. I know that nothing will happen for me, but if something happens to someone else in the future, I want my concerns to be on record. Even with scripts for zofran prescribed by the new Dr. I am still sick almost every other day an have issues with nausea. At this point, I figure I can deal with 8 more weeks.

Rainy Thursday

Not much going on. Worked like a dog yesterday, still working to get over this cold, lost 2lbs since Monday. grrrrrr Off to work on my indoor "to do" list. grrrrrr

Juice for Dinner

So it might look gross, but I am sick of wasting produce and was not in the mood to eat anything for dinner tonight. Since drinking is easer than eating, I decided to make some juice. The above was made with a few apples, two lemons, a few apples, a bunch of carrots and some leftover lettuce. The good news is that I have enough for breakfast tomorrow, I am getting in fruits and veggies, somewhat cleaned out the fridge and am feeding "the dean"!

I'd like to get some 30 week pictures to post but Allan has been MIA lately (leaving before I get out of bed and coming home after I am in bed). While this is not hard given how much I am sleeping, I hope to get him, me and a camera in the same room tomorrow!